As a first step toward an understanding of the chemical and structural role of hydrogen in hydrogenated amorphous silicon, we utilized electron beam evaporation in an ultra high vacuum environment to deposit films of amorphous silicon and systematically dosed these films with atomic hydrogen during deposition. Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS) data indicated that hydrogen concentration can be varied from the detection limit of SIMS to a value in excess of 1021 atoms cm-3. The intentional addition of hydrogen caused the concentration to fall from in an excess of 1021 atoms*cm-3 to below 1018 atoms*cm-3.

The ternary II-VT alloy Hg1-xCdxTe has become the material of choice for many infrared detector applications. Current state of the art Hg1-xCdxTe infrared focal plane arrays (IRFPAs) are constructed as hybrid structures consisting of an epitaxial sensing layer of Hg1-xCdxTe on either a CdTe or Cd1-xZnxTe substrate, hybridized to a silicon readout circuit chip. For backside illuminated structures, like the typical infrared Hg1-xCdxTe detector array, multilayer antireflective coatings (AR) are required on the backside of the detector chip. The next generation of higher performance IRFPAs will be based on high densities of smaller detector pixels fabricated on large area monolithic heteroepitaxial substrate materials. Since the ultimate performance of photovoltaic diodes of this type is determined by the signal to noise ratio of the device, reducing the size of the pixels while lowering the undesirable noise currents in the devices also reduces the amount of signal generated by the diode.

Visible-blind UV cameras based on a 32 × 32 array of backside-illuminated GaN/AlGaN p-i-n photodiodes have been successfully demonstrated. The photodiode arrays were hybridized to silicon readout integrated circuits (ROICs) using In bump bonds. Output from the UV cameras were recorded at room temperature at frame rates of 30−240 Hz. These new visible-blind digital cameras are sensitive to radiation from 285−365 nm in the UV spectral region.

A visible-blind UV camera based on a 32 × 32 array of backside-illuminated GaN/AlGaN p-i-n photodiodes has been successfully demonstrated. Each of the 1024 photodiodes in the array consists of a base n-type layer of AlGaN (~20%) onto which an undoped GaN layer followed by a p-type GaN layer is deposited by metallorganic vapor phase epitaxy. Double-side polished sapphire wafers are used as transparent substrates. Standard photolithographic, etching, and metallization procedures were employed to obtain fully-processed devices. The photodiode array was hybridized to a silicon readout integrated circuit using In bump bonds. Output from the UV camera was recorded at room temperature at a frame rate of 30 Hz. This new type of visible-blind digital camera is sensitive to radiation from 320 nm to 365 nm in the UV spectral region.

Practical methods for directly patterning hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films have been developed. Direct patterning involves selectively oxidizing the hydrogen passivated a-Si:H surface or laser crystallization of the bulk. The oxide or polycrystalline layer formed in this way then becomes a mask for subsequent hydrogen plasma etching. Methods for selective oxidation of the a-Si:H surface have been extensively studied. Examination of the pattern generation threshold dose for excitation wavelengths from 248 to 633nm provides indirect evidence for electron-hole recombination breaking of the silicon-hydrogen bond. An additional hydrogen removal mechanism was observed whereby simple proximity of a tapered fiber optic probe less than 30nm from the sample surface resulted in pattern generation. Patterns were generated in both intrinsic and doped a-Si:H films by several means, including contact printing with a mask aligner, in situ projection lithography with an excimer laser, and direct writing with a near-field scanning optical microscope (NSOM). Direct patterning of a-Si:H films has a wide range of potential applications. We have demonstrated a-Si:H as an in situ photoresist material for patterning HgCdTe infrared detector arrays with all process steps done in vacuum. We have also demonstrated 100nm line widths using NSOM writing with a photolithography goal. Direct patterning of a-Si:H could simplify the manufacturing of thin film transistors, or other devices that require patterned silicon films.

Visible-blind UV cameras based on a 32 × 32 array of backside-illuminated GaN/AlGaN p-i-n photodiodes have been successfully demonstrated. The photodiode arrays were hybridized to silicon readout integrated circuits (ROICs) using In bump bonds. Output from the UV cameras were recorded at room temperature at frame rates of 30-240 Hz. These new visible-blind digital cameras are sensitive to radiation from 285-365 nm in the UV spectral region.

The growth of reduced dislocation density GaAs/Si is performed by a novel two-step technique where the first epitaxy step takes place at 75° C and the second is performed at 580° C. The initial deposition is single crystal, continuous, and planar such that there is no contribution to the dislocation density from Volmer-Weber island coalescence and no trapping of dislocations in pinholes. Using this new growth technique, a reduced dislocation density the order of 106/cm2 was obtained. The improved crystallinity is indicated by the more narrow x-ray full-width-at-half-maximum (FWHM) value of 110 arcseconds. GaAs p-i-n diodes were grown on the reduced dislocation density GaAs/Si and it was found that the resistivity of the intrinsic region for the heteroepitaxial diodes was similar to homoepitaxial ones for small mesa sizes.

A cantilever shadow masking technique has been used for the first time to grow CdTe in recesses of GaAs wafers. The use of this technique eliminated the deleterious effects of side wall growth. Scanning electron microscopy, electron channeling, Auger spectroscopy and photoluminescence were used to characterize these structures. An application to planar monolithic infrared focal plane arrays is discussed.